Sookie Stackhouse
| aliases = | series = True Blood | image = | gender = | notability = | occupation = | race = | base of operations = Bon Temps, Louisiana | known relatives = | status = | born = 1983 | died = | 1st appearance = "Strange Love" | final appearance = | actor = Anna Paquin Zenali Turner }} Sookie Stackhouse is a fictional telepath and the main character from "The Southern Vampire Mysteries" series of novels written by Charlaine Harris. The novels have been adapted into the popular HBO television series, True Blood, where the role of Sookie Stackhouse is played by Canadian actress Anna Paquin. Sookie Stackhouse is a twenty-five-year-old woman who works as a waitress at Merlotte's Bar and Grill in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sookie has a gift (which she actually considers a disability) in which she can hear the thoughts of everyone around, whether she wants to or not. With practice, Sookie has learned to screen out the thoughts of those she does not wish to listen to, but it takes a lot of patience to control this power and she does not always succeed. She has come to learn that she cannot read the minds of certain supernatural creatures such as vampires, which allows her to get into a romantic relationship with a vampire named Bill Compton. Bill and Sookie's relationship goes through many ups and downs, but in short order, she finds herself immersed in the vampire subculture as well as that of the other strange intrigues that plague the town of Bon Temps. Biography Early years Sookie Stackhouse was born in 1983, the second child of Michelle and Corbett Stackhouse. When Sookie was about seven-years-old, she discovered that she was a telepath; a person who could perceive the thoughts of others. Though many would consider such an ability a gift, Sookie regarded it as her "disability". The power came with an exacting price, as it was nearly impossible for her to block out the voices. With patience, time and practice, Sookie learned to gain some measure of control over her telepathy and could periodically close her mind off to the voices inside her head. She also learned to control her facial reactions so as not to give any indication of whatever she might perceive by reading another's mind. Dead Until Dark Her parents had a difficult time coming to terms with her ability. She was taken to various doctors who all gave her a clean bill of health. Her father even had go to a child psychiatrist, who concluded that Sookie was merely hyper-observant and keen at gleaning information by reading body language. Dead Until Dark page 51 When Sookie was still a young child, her parents died in a flash flood and her brother Jason and she were raised by their grandmother Adele. Thanks to a fund that was established when an oil well as sunk on her parents' property, Sookie and Jason were both able to support themselves while still taking care of their aging grandmother. Jason inherited the old family house, while Sookie remained on the farmhouse with her grandmother. Dead Until Dark; page 20 As a young woman, Sookie began working as a waitress for Sam Merlotte at Merlotte's Bar and Grill. Although she was good at her job, it proved trying for her, especially when she had to screen out the incoming thoughts of those around her. She made a concerted effort to shield her mind from Sam Merlotte's thoughts as she did not wish to perceive anything that might jeapardize her employment or her friendship with him. The Vampire .]] In 2008, Sookie Stackhouse met her first vampire -- Bill Compton. Compton had paid a visit to Merlotte's and Sookie immediately recognized him as a vampire. Curiosity forced her to introduce herself and she was impressed with the man's politeness and gentility. A short time later, Sookie overheard the thoughts of two of her more loathesome customers, Mack and Denise Rattray. The Rattrays likewise recognized Compton as a vampire and intended on abducting him and draining his blood so they could sell it on the black market. Sookie tried to warn Bill, but the Rattrays lured him out of Merlotte's before she had the chance. She followed them into the parking lot where the Rattrays wasted little time incapacitating Bill with a thin silver chain. Picking up a chain of her own, she attacked Mack Rattray, wrapping the chain about his neck. She then took Mack's knife and used it to force the two to leave Compton alone. Once the Rattrays left, Sookie removed the silver from the injured Bill, allowing him time to recover. Sookie discovered that she could not hear Bill's thoughts and she became even more enamored with him. Now there was somebody she could spend time without always having to be on guard. Sookie couldn't wait to get home and tell her grandmother about the vampire. She deliberately neglected to mention her fight with the Rattrays however. Adele was very enthusiastic to hear about the vampire and immediately got to wondering if he had been involved in the Civil War. A geneaology buff, Adele knew that the members of her social group, the Descendants of the Glorious Dead, would be thrilled to hear the recollections from someone who had lived in that era. She asked Sookie to invite him to the house the next time she had the chance, and Sookie agreed. A few nights later, Sookie met Bill Compton again at Merlotte's. She grew even more enraptured with him and asked him to meet her behind the bar after work so she could detail her grandmother's request. Sam and Tara were less than pleased to see Sookie making a date with a vampire, and they both voiced their displeasure with her. Sookie left Merlotte's shortly after 1:30 am. Walking back towards her car, she was accosted by Mack and Denise Rattray, who were still enraged over the incident from their previous encounter. They knocked Sookie to the ground and began savagely kicking her. Sookie likely would have died if not for the timely arrival of Bill Compton. Bill used his vampire strength to dispatch the Rattrays, killing them in the process. He took the battered Sookie in his arms and ran deeper into the woods away from prying eyes. He bit open a vein in his forearm and forced Sookie to drink his blood. She didn't want to, but understood that if she did not, she would die from her injuries. After drinking Bill's blood, Sookie's wounds quickly healed. Moreover, she felt even healthier than she had before the beating. Bill elaborated, telling her how vampire blood carried with it certain healing properties. This, among many other things, was but one element of vampire physiology that he did not wish for the world to learn about. Once Sookie recovered enough to stand, Bill brought her home. Meeting Bill invariably pulled Sookie deeper and deeper into the world of vampires and she learned more about their habits and culture than she ever wanted to know. While visting Bill's ancestral home, she encountered three disreputable vampires named Liam, Malcolm and Diane. All three of them regarded Sookie as nothing more than a meal, but Bill exerted his dominance over them, claiming "Sookie is mine!" Sookie didn't take well to being regarded as someone's possession, but Bill later explained that it was a necessary ruse in order to protect her. Fangtasia A few days later, Sookie discovered the body of her co-worker Dawn Green dead in her apartment. Sookie was shocked to learn that she had been murdered, but was even more surprised when she discovered that her brother Jason was the number one suspect. Jason had only recently been let go on suspicion of murdering another local woman named Maudette Pickens. Gran asked Sookie to use her gift to scan the minds of the local townsfolk in the hopes of uncovering anything that might prove Jason's innocence. She read the surface thoughts of the patrons at Merlotte's, but found nothing but narrow-mindedness and crass opinions. While talking with Arlene, Sookie learned that Dawn had frequented a vampire bar in Shreveport. She asked Bill about this and he confirmed that it was a place called Fangtasia. She asked him to bring her to the bar so she could read the minds of the people who worked and visited there. Bill drove Sookie to Fangtasia and she met the bartender, a grisly vampire named Longshadow. She showed him photographs of Dawn and Maudette, and Longshadow confirmed that they were both regular customers. She then scanned the minds of the human patrons, but perceived little more than just "sex, sex, sex...", as she put it. One vampire in Fangtasia however, stood out amongst all others - Eric Northman. Eric was the vampire sheriff of Area 5 and according to Compton, "...the oldest thing in this bar". Sookie was not particularly impressed with Eric's veneer, but politely asked him for his assistance none the less. While speaking with Eric, Sookie picked up a stray thought from a patron who was in fact an undercover police officer. She warned Eric that the police were about to raid Fangtasia and that a vampire named Taryn, was illegally drinking human blood in the restroom. Sookie's sudden knowledge of this piqued Eric's interests immensely, but there was no time to question her further. As the police stormed the bar, Sookie, Bill, Eric and his major domo Pam escaped out the back. On the drive home, Sookie and Bill were pulled over by a Shreveport police officer. The man shined his flashlight in Sookie's face and insinuated that she was a "fang-banger". This enraged Bill, who used his vampire powers to glamour the officer, forcing him to surrender his firearm and leave them be. Sookie did not take kindly to Bill's seemingly wanton abuse of his power. Notes & Trivia * * Child actress Zenali Turner played the role of Sookie Stackhouse in "The First Taste" and "Burning House of Love". Related categories * Sookie Stackhouse/Images * Sookie Stackhouse/Appearances See also External links * * * at Wikipedia * Sookie Stackhouse at the Horror House * Sookie Stackhouse at the True Blood Wiki References ---- Category:Telepaths Category:Fairies Category:Independently wealthy Category:Fairy halflings